BACKGROUND:
Adolescent sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is a growing risk factor for obesity and noncommunicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), yet data on consumption patterns are lacking due to limited dietary surveillance initiatives.

METHODS:
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from two ongoing cohort studies to describe SSB consumption volume among adolescents and young adults aged 10–24 years across eight Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) sites in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, and Uganda. The HDSS sites in Ghana, Uganda, and one in Tanzania are rural-based, while the rest are urban-based. SSB consumption volume was ascertained by multiplying responses from two questions: one capturing consumption frequency in the past week (0–7 days), and another capturing the volume consumed on the most recent consumption day using standard container sizes (250 mL glass, 355 mL can, 330 mL bottle, 500 mL bottle, 1 L bottle, 1.5 L bottle).

RESULTS:
Across sites (N=23,515), the proportion of SSB consumers was 62.1% (range 31.9%-89.1%). Mean weekly SSB consumption was 1,240.9 mL (95% CI, 1,211.6–1,270.1). Consumption was highest in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (1,953.7 mL/week), and Ningo Prampram/Shai Osudoku, Ghana (1,773.7 mL/week). SSB consumption notably increased with age and parental education levels, and was slightly higher among males however this varied across sites, without any consistent pattern by rural or urban setting.

CONCLUSIONS:
The widespread consumption in both rural and urban-based HDSS sites, and clear consumption gradients by age and parental education highlight the urgent need for targeted interventions that aim to reduce SSB consumption. This study shows surveillance efforts in communities with existing HDSS can be used to efficiently monitor SSB consumption in large populations. Such initiatives could help to close the evidence gap on current SSB consumption as facilitate the monitoring of longitudinal trends.